Sociological Choices in Holocaust and Human Rights Education

• In Event: 523 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 16. Educational Programs, Educational Reforms, and Student Research: Session I

Abstract

Sociology courses, along with other school curricula, are designed and obligated to advance human rights through multicultural education. An important aspect of multicultural education involves studying and teaching about the Holocaust, modern genocides, and promoting other forms of human rights education. How can we make sociologically informed and constructive choices to include the Holocaust and other aspects of human rights education in our sociological curricula? Where and how does understanding the roots and consequences of genocides in modern history inform discussion of inter-group relations and ethnoracial diversities? This paper explores the choices and constraints that face sociological teaching and research of the Holocaust as part of human rights education (HRE).

Author

• Michael F. Polgar, Penn State University